Tallahassee, Fla. – The No. 1/1 Florida State men’s track and field team will be honored by the entire Seminole family with a lighting of the torch of the “Unconquered” statue on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 8:00 pm for winning the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship crown.

The Seminole men captured the program’s first national title behind three event champions and three second-place finishes. FSU is the second non-SEC team to win a team title since UCLA in 1988. The men doubled the nuber of outdoor event champions with the trio of titles. Head coach Bob Braman won the title in three short seasons.

Redshirt senior Lacy Janson will also be honored for winning her first outdoor pole vault championship (second overall) in her final season of collegiate compeition.

FSU adopted a policy in March increasing the frequency of the lighting of the spear acknowledging events of great significance and accomplishment on the FSU campus.

Unconquered, a 31-foot high sculpture that depicts a spear-brandishing Seminole astride a rearing horse, was designed by Fritz White to capture the indomitable spirit of the Seminole people and those who have adopted that spirit as a symbol for their university.

Since its 2003 dedication, the spear has been set ablaze at sunset before FSU home football games only and it burns until sunrise the morning after the game. The new policy means the spear will be lit when FSU wins an Atlantic Coast Conference team championship in any sport, or an NCAA individual championship in any sport. In addition, the spear would be lit the night an FSU team is selected for NCAA Championship competition and will burn for 24 hours. For any sport in which the NCAA does not select full teams (currently swimming and track and field), the spear will be lit if five or more Florida State individuals qualify to compete. For sports with preliminary and final rounds of NCAA championships, if the team advances to the final site (i.e.: Final Four, College Cup, College World Series), the spear will be lit again to recognize the achievement.

The spear may also be lit to recognize the winning of a “National Player of the Year” award in any sport (i.e. Heisman Trophy, Rhodes Scholarship). The new policy will also allow the spear to be lit on the night of graduations and convocations, along with other special occasions as approved by the President.